Friday night, especially for one half, the Shelby County girls’ basketball team had one of its best performances of the season, against one of the best foes it will face.

The Rockets trailed Woodford County, one of the top teams in the 11th Region, 19-4, after the first quarter but rallied to score the first 10 points of the second period to trim their deficit to just five points.

When last we left you, we had shared our heartwarming little story of the Paint mare my wife had adopted, which some of you said left you feeling as good as it did us.
We’ve had smiles and tears and hugs and plenty of handholding through this process, but today, in homage to the great Paul Harvey, we must share “the rest of the story.”
Page Two.

The tragic and traumatic shootings that occurred in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday leave us at once in a sad and frightening place.
For any innocent person to be gunned down is a tragedy. For a respected judge and five bystanders to be left dead and a promising member of Congress critically wounded is a statement.
And because of that statement, we fear this is a crime with another potential target, too:
This is an inherent assault on the First Amendment.

With the dawning of the new year, so many wonderful deeds have come and gone without a sufficient round of applause.
So many have given of their time to help others (including in moments of need and tragedy). So many have been willing to serve.
Many have been praised publicly – including outgoing public servants Cody Armstrong, Betty Curtsinger and George Best – and there’s an upcoming appreciation dinner for retiring state Sen. Gary Tapp.